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The impact of organized crime on the legal economy: identifying strategies to disrupt criminal investment in key sectors

Thursday, 12 June 2014 15:29

Rome, 16 & 17 June 2014 - A two-day conference on preventing organized crime infiltration in the legal economy will take place at the Tempio di Adriano, Piazza di Pietra in Rome on 16-17 June.

The conference, organized by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, the United States Department of State and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), will focus on three main topics: counterfeiting and environmental crimes as sources of funding for organized crime; perspectives on the reinvestment of illicit capital into the legal economy; and innovative ways to manage confiscated criminal assets.

Organized crime has demonstrated an increasing ability to adapt to rapid changes in the political and economic arenas, especially in recent years. Over the past few decades, criminal organizations have increased their sphere of action, perpetuating a vicious and inseparable cycle between the management of illegal activities and the reinvestment of capital in the legal economy. Reinvesting revenues from illegal activities and illicit markets into assets and the legal economy enables criminal organizations to launder proceeds of crime, diversify their activities, increase their funding sources, and exercise control over the territory at different levels. The negative consequences of this process, for governments and the society at large, are vast: the licit economy is infiltrated by criminal groups, competition is distorted and resources are diverted from public services. Furthermore, this process is facilitated by sophisticated money laundering mechanisms which make it difficult to separate the legal from the illegal economy.

Paving the way for increasingly complementary strategies and approaches, representatives from academia, civil society, international organizations and governments will present their objectives, experiences and results. Among the participants there will be representatives from Interpol, Europol, the US Department of State, Italy, France and Spain. In addition, participants from the private sector will illustrate how the fight against the economic power of organized crime can support the creation of a business environment where economy can thrive.

For further information, please contact Mr. Marco Musumeci: E-mail:
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; Tel: +41 22 91 75995.

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